This should have been explained to us “early adopters”. I have spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to switch from E-courier to Taxfolder. E-Courier wanted to charge $200 to add the e-signature feature. I chose not to pay that becuase I was paying for Taxfolder already.
If Taxfolder is only ready to secure signatures or approvals, why is the cost so high? Are we paying for your development of the software?
You can also have your client send you their documents using the client portal. You will have access to the documents they share in the Client Files section in the Engagement View. You can also place files here for the client which they would have access to if you choose.
I tested the add an engagement label. It did not work or at least not the way I had hoped.
I sent up a client in TaxFolder which automatically sent the client an email inviting them to TaxFolder. I then set up the same client in TaxCycle and sent a document to be signed. I made sure that I picked the same engagement label that I had used when setting up the client in TaxFolder and when I generated pdf to be sent, TaxFolder created two engagements.
What did I do wrong or is it another bug to be fixed?
Is there a training manual or similar document for us to educate ourselves on use. The amount of time being spent to learn how this TAXFOLDER works is unreasonable. Busiest week of the year and I’m wasting time trying to figure this program out, train staff on its use etc.
Looks like a bug. I have it recorded.
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We have an FAQ here for preparers:
https://taxfolder.com/preparer-faq/
We have added help topics on our website here and more are coming:
https://www.taxcycle.com/documentation/taxfolder/
We are posting updates on known issues here:
https://www.taxcycle.com/news/?tag=known%20issue
Client placed documents in tax folder and notified me, but am I not suppose to receive an email notification as well?
So yes, make sure your notification is set to ON. The way the client upload notification works is that the engagement has to be assigned to a preparer and has to be STARTED before the notifications will be sent.
You should get one email for each session. So if your client logs in and uploads 10 documents, that will generate one notification. If they logout and then come back, log in and add more documents 5 minutes later, that will generate a second notification.
sarka, I have done what you suggested by putting files to be available to a client in the client files section. Is the client not to receive a notification that this has occurred? On the client side, it shows under “Your Files” and not under “Documents from your accountant”. Why would it be grouped with files the client has uploaded? It would be nice if a client requests a copy of say their T1 General, you could just drag a copy onto their TaxFolder, they get notified it is there and they retrieve a copy.
Also, when generating a document for signature and assigning a specific engagement label within TaxCycle, the document sent for signature does not show under the engagement label in my portal. The client receives an email requesting a signature. Client signs, and I receive email notification of signed document and to sign into TaxFolder to view. Sign in, but no document under that engagement label, or anywhere else that I can determine.
Help?
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I do agree with Kevin that since the “Client side” of TaxFolder divides Documents into “Your Documents” and “Documents from Accountant” it would seem more natural that any files uploaded (drag & dropped) by the accountant would go into the Documents from Accountant container and any files uploaded (drag & dropped) by the client would go into the client (Your Documents or Your Uploads) container.
When I drag documents into the Portal the Client should receive an email letting them know I as the accountant have uploaded documents. I don’t think this happens if I as the accountant drag files to the “Your Documents” (Client’s documents) container in TaxFolder. I as the Accountant do, however, receive an email “Client X has just uploaded new documents” if the client has dragged files to the portal. The only way the client receives an email regarding documents is if I use the “New Approval Request” feature.
Right now I can’t drag & drop anything directly into the Accountant’s Container. In order to get any files onto that side I need to create a “New Approval Request” then “Send Without Signatures”. This works fairly well, as the client can receive a document without having to log into their “TaxFolder’” portal, which I really like. They just need a cell phone number for this. They need to “Approve” the document, which is ok, because I then get an email telling me they essentially received and opened the file. The only thing I find a little goofy here on the client side is they receive a second email from TaxFolder with the Subject “A signed document is ready on TaxFolder.com” even if the request was for an approval, not a signature. Maybe something as easy as renaming the subject to “A signed or approved document is ready on TaxFolder.com” fixes that. Or maybe the client doesn’t even need to receive that email… they know they signed or approved the document, not sure why they need an email to remind them of it. Just knowing that if they wanted to view their signed or approved document at some later date they could just log into their TaxFolder account and find it in there. I am just one opinion, but I do find the second client email telling them the document they just signed or approved is available for them to look at to be a bit redundant.
So why might I manually send documents to some clients rather than use the TaxCycle automated digital signature process? We have a decent system in our office for clients to physically drop off and pick up their returns, while still not really needing to interact at all or too much with them. If I can “TaxFolder” (using the term TaxFolder as a verb) a non-tech savvy client’s family 3 or 4 T183 or other forms to sign, they can print the forms, sign them, and bring these signed forms back to our office when they pick up their completed returns. This saves them at least one trip (to get other family members to sign their T183 forms), or the need to mail back the forms.
Maybe even if there were 3 containers when the client logged in;
Files Uploaded by Client
Files Uploaded by Accountant
Approved or Signed Documents
The Client could only delete Files Uploaded by Client
The Client can not delete Files Uploaded by Accountant
The Accountant can delete Files Uploaded by Client and Files Uploaded by Accountant
The Client receives an email when accountant uploads files into the “Files Uploaded by Accountant” section.
Obviously… not something that could or should be changed at this time in tax season… but food for thought.
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You are sending this to the wrong person. I do not know what your are talking about.
Also… just something else that I have been asked about.
When I set up a new client in TaxFolder, they receive an email with the subject “You’re invited to TaxFolder” This is perfect. The client can create their account and get familiar with TaxFolder.
When I add an Engagement from the Accountant side of the portal (I’m trying to organize or do maintenance) the client automatically receives an email with the subject “Accountant has requested info from you on TaxFolder.com”. At this point I’m not really requesting anything… maybe I’m setting up their T2 engagement at the same time as I set them up as a TaxFolder client, but don’t need anything from them just yet… maybe I’m setting up their engagement so I can upload files for them to review or download. Is there a way I can stop that “Snoplowguy has requested info from you” email from automatically going out? Sometimes the client is confused… thinking that I have asked them for something when I have not.
Rather than an automatic email that gets generated and sent whenever I add an engagement… Given the choice I might prefer have a manual button inside TaxFolder that I can click on if I want to request documents from a client, perhaps something similar to the “New Approval Request” where I can type a Subject and Message to recipient
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Currently the preparer side supports sending for either signature or approval and provides the tracking and notifications. I mentioned using the client files section as a possible work-around but yes that means the client can delete the file and there are no notifications triggered to the client. I don’t recommend it, but you could do it that way.
The issue identified where TaxCycle was creating a second engagement when sending a print set to TaxFolder and the engagement label in TaxFolder was customized has been fixed and will be in the next TaxCycle release.
You can see all the engagements created by clicking on the drop down for the engagement name in the client details view.
We really need the visability of the client engagement with the items in TaxFolder. I need to be able to see if they have clicked through to the document needing signature to see where the issue is with the delay in receiving the signature.
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